We tend to hear a lot about the importance of pushing to seek out sources of renewable energy, but how many people know what the biggest sources of this energy actually are — let alone what regions of the globe are working to incorporate them? For example, where do you think North America stands, relative to Europe and Asia, when it comes to generating electricity via renewable energy sources?

If you're looking for some perspective, check out the chart up top, published today by The Economist. According to the post:

Solar power saw the biggest leap in 2010, with the installed base jumping 70% compared with 2009 to 40 gigawatts. Wind power also grew strongly, adding 24% of generating capacity. Yet the biggest source of renewable electricity, hydropower, and the smallest, geothermal, both only added 3% to capacity. Finding usable sources of either is becoming increasingly hard or costly. The region that saw the biggest growth in renewable energy projects was power-hungry Asia. Investment in renewables also saw the biggest leap since 2007, with $243 billion spent, a 30% increase over 2009.